MEDICAL and scientific research across the UK will suffer if Scotland votes for independence, the heads of three academic institutions have warned.

Concerns over the future of research funding in the event of a Yes vote were raised by Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, Lord Stern president of the British Academy and Sir John Tooke, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences in a joint letter to a national newspaper.

They wrote: "Scotland has long done particularly well through its access to UK research funding.

"If it turns out that an independent Scotland has to form its own science and research budget, maintaining these levels of research spending would cost the Scottish taxpayer significantly more."

They went on to state that the strong links and collaborations which exist across the UK "would be put at risk", with any new system aiming to restore these links "likely to be expensive and bureaucratic".

The presidents wrote: "We believe that if separation were to occur, research not only in Scotland but also the rest of the UK would suffer.

"However, research in Scotland would be more vulnerable and there could be significant reductions in range, capacity and critical mass."

The joint letter is the latest intervention on the future of research under independence.

Earlier this year a group of 14 clinical academics and scientists put their names to an open letter raising "grave concerns that the country does not sleepwalk into a situation that jeopardises its present success in the highly-competitive arena of biomedical research".

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Unlike the scenario presented in this letter, with independence the Scottish Government is fully committed to maintaining existing collaborative research arrangements with the rest of the UK.

"The Scottish Government has already shown our commitment to research through increased investment since 2007 and we will continue to support research in an independent Scotland providing levels of public investment in university research which enable our universities to remain internationally competitive.

"With independence it will continue to be in the interest of both Scotland and the UK to collaborate as part of a single research area.

"Scotland currently contributes substantially to UK Research Councils' funding through its share of UK tax receipts and, with independence, we will negotiate with the UK Government a fair funding formula for Scotland's contribution.

"We will also ensure there is no adverse funding impact from Scotland's transition to independence and, indeed, believe that independence will bring opportunities for increased research funding through wider collaborations with partners in Europe and beyond, facilitated by our greater presence and profile on the world stage."